Thumbsucking! - Morgan Hill,CA

Updated on May 08, 2008
N.D. asks from Morgan Hill, CA
4 answers

Hi there! My 2 year old sucks her thumb quite a bit. I am ok with it, other than the fact that it is raw, chapped and bleeding! It doesn't hurt or bother her and she could suck on it all day if I let her. She mostly sucks when she is tired or sleepy. I would love some advise on what some moms out there have done to help heal their childs thumb. I know when I was little my parents put some sort of polish on my thumbnail that didn't taste good. They say that worked and stopped me from sucking my thumb again!

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A.S.

answers from San Francisco on

I agree that it is not really that big of deal. My brother had thesame issue though with his tumb getting all gross from time to time. My mom put neosporine a bandaid and then put a srigical glove on him. He would still suck his thumb but it allowed it to heal. Mom had to this maybe once a month.
Hope this helps.
A.

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J.C.

answers from Lincoln on

I sucked my thumb until I was 8 years old. My parents tried everything: rubbing hot peppers on it, band-aids, the gross nail polish, bribery, nothing worked. My two front permanent teeth almost fell out they were so loose due to my thumbsucking.
Just like your daughter I mainly did it at night or naptime. It was comforting to me, made me feel safe.
I finally stopped on my own when I was done with it. I would say try whatever you can, but don't feel like a failure if it doesn't work. Sometimes there's just nothing you can do but pray.

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L.D.

answers from San Francisco on

My daughter sucked her thumb from 4mos until 5yrs. I used to show her how the unsucked thumb looked compared to the sucked one. She almost sucked her thumbprint off (hehe)! Anyway, I used to explain to her that she could get sick and I told her that big girls don't suck their thumbs etc. I eventually gave up and let it go. She stopped on her own. Her mouth/teeth are fine & the thumbprint is still there.

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A.C.

answers from Sacramento on

This happened to my dauther too. And this is really gross, but it would get all cracked and when she was sick the germs from her sickness would get her thumb infected!

I always put a little Aquaphor on her thumb and covered it with a bandaid during the day. This won't stop her from sucking her thumb, but it will help heal the cracks and such. Just make sure to take it off at night so she doesn't accidentally swallow it.

Good luck!

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